The Devil Be Damned

by Ali Vali

  “Sublime.” Shelby straightened out and moved to the stove. “Could you get back in there and make sure Lionel and Joe don’t have Muriel tied to a chair trying to get information out of her?”

  “I was kind of surprised to see her here.”

  “I’m sure not as surprised as she is that you and the guys are here, and if you’re my friend don’t start any conversations about what a big mistake I’m making.”

  “You’ll never hear me say that since I understand the allure of someone like Muriel. The Caseys might be why we get paid, but they seem like people who love wholeheartedly when they find the person they give their heart to.” Shelby pointed to a bottle and Claire poured herself a glass of wine. “So, my friend, instead of making a mistake I should be congratulating you for taking a chance.”

  “We’ll see,” Shelby said, and bit the nail of her index finger. Muriel appeared at the door and Shelby was afraid that at the end of her life she would never be able to look back and say true happiness was something she was familiar with. “Everything okay?”

  “I’m sure it will be, so smile and we’ll call a truce for tonight,” Muriel said, and held her.

  *

  “How’s he doing?” Emma asked when Cain stepped out of the intensive care unit. They’d had to leave in the middle of lunch when Jarvis got so weak he almost didn’t make it out of the restaurant on his feet. Cain had gotten him into the car with Lou’s help and had taken him to his doctor when he started having trouble breathing, and from there he’d been transferred to the hospital less than an hour later.

  “He’s asking for Muriel, but her phone isn’t on and the office said she left right after we did.” Cain sat next to her and took her hand. “I’m no doctor, but he doesn’t look good to me.”

  “Ms. Casey?” A man in a lab coat stopped in front of them. “I’m Dr. Gamble. How are you related to Mr. Casey?”

  “He’s my uncle. Is he any better?”

  “I asked Mr. Casey if I could share his condition with you and he consented, but I need you to find his daughter. From what he said he’s got only one child and she needs to know how serious this is.”

  Cain nodded. “Tell me what it’ll take to get him home and I’ll get Muriel here tonight.”

  “The flu virus has damaged his heart and he’s in congestive heart failure. Medication can usually help, but with his weakened condition I don’t know how successful that’ll be.”

  “The flu attacked his heart?” It sounded absurd.

  “This isn’t a joke, Ms. Casey. The virus has weakened his heart muscle and has impaired his pump function. We’ll do our best, but the next couple of days are crucial.” He glanced at his watch. “I know you just came out but he’s asking to talk to you. I’m willing to bend the rules if you use the time to try and calm him down.”

  Cain stood and held her hand out to Emma. They followed the doctor to the locked doors and waited for him to gain access. Jarvis was lying in bed with his hand over the middle of his chest, as if he were trying to keep his heart in place. Pale and breathing shallowly, he appeared to Cain as if his strength had left his body and what was left was a shell that would soon shatter.

  When she bent close he opened his eyes and she smiled at the familiar blue of the Casey clan. “Cain…Muriel,” he said softly. He’d lost an amazing amount of ground since they arrived at the hospital.

  “I’ll get her here tonight, Uncle Jarvis, so save your strength so you can talk to her then.”

  “No, I need to talk to you first. Promise me…you won’t turn her away. I’ve tried my best…” He reached out for her hand as his chest heaved. “I’ve tried to keep her safe and to keep her true to who she is, but we both know she’s lost. This woman isn’t who she seems, and Muriel will be a victim of her ambition. I can’t rest knowing Muriel might have to face the world alone because her feelings have dulled her intelligence.”

  “You need to concentrate on getting stronger. Muriel isn’t in any danger of losing her place with me no matter who she picks to spend her life with.” Cain came closer and kissed his hand. “I place family above everything else in my life. It sounds like a corny thing to say, but—”

  “No,” he said, and coughed. “You’re so like your father. Dalton spoke like a poet when it came to family and what it meant to him. Do you think he’d be proud of what I’ve built when it came to mine?”

  “As much as I am, uncle, and Muriel is a perfect person to carry on your name. She hasn’t forgotten what blood runs through her heart.”

  “At times I feel like I don’t know her. Maybe I’m the one who’s forgotten what it means to carry on what my father gave me.” His eyes filled with tears and so did hers. It hurt her to see him grasp at what life he had left like a man who’d run out of time before he’d been able to finish setting up his legacy.

  “You helped me find my way back to Emma again,” Cain said. “Do you remember that day in my office? You stood up to my stubbornness and reminded me what was important.” Cain squeezed his hand and laughed. “I wanted to punch you, but you were right, and because you were, I’ll need a new picture on my desk soon when we add our little one.”

  “I have your word you won’t tell her about our talk? I can’t have her thinking that I doubt her and what she means to me,” he said, and squeezed her hand gently.

  “Muriel’s heart is safe with me, so try and relax.” She glanced up at the heart monitor. “You’ll feel better if you calm down.”

  “Find Muriel for me, and hurry,” Jarvis said, as if he knew exactly how much time he had left. “Remember what I asked you, and thank you, Cain. You’ve made me proud, and I’ll tell your da and mum what a wonderful spouse and parent you are.”

  “You can tell them that much later, because you still have a lot of life left to kick around. Close your eyes and rest. I’ll be right back with Muriel.”

  “You’ll tell her if I’m too tired, right? Tell her how much I love her,” he said, and closed his eyes as if he was too exhausted to keep them focused.

  “You have my word she’ll know everything she needs to.”

  “Where do you intend to look?” Emma asked when Cain guided her outside the room.

  “The last place I want to, but I don’t want to send one of the guys. Muriel needs to hear this from me, and I hope I know her as well as I think I do because we don’t have much time.” Cain kissed Emma and placed her hand at the bend of her neck. “I hate to do this to you, but could you stay with him?”

  “You go, and I’ll be fine.” She kissed Cain again and sighed when she saw the tears ready to fall from her eyes. “He’s a Casey, baby. He’s strong enough to fight.”

  “We can’t win all our battles, my love. That’s one of the most important lessons I’ve learned. Sometimes you can fight like the devil, but you’re damned to lose it all,” Cain said before she turned and headed away with a determined step. A moment later Lou walked in and stood outside Jarvis’s room with the other guard who had accompanied them to the hospital.

  “She left alone?” Emma asked, unable to keep the panic from her voice.

  “Unfortunately I don’t get to call the shots,” Lou said with no humor, and shrugged.

  “Great.” She glanced at the exit again before she went back to Jarvis’s side.

  She hadn’t known Jarvis well when she and Cain first met. For a few years Emma had thought Cain and Jarvis were at odds, but one day going through some family photos she found the answer.

  Dalton filled the photos he was in with his broad shoulders, thick jet hair, and smile, all of which he’d passed on to his children. In every picture the still frames couldn’t dull the obvious mischief and charm Cain had so often spoken of. That afternoon flipping through her lover’s history, she’d understood why Cain missed him, and she wished she’d met him.

  And in those pictures she’d seen the curse of the Casey genes that had prevailed for generations. Cain’s father had been the center of her world for so long. He’d been fath
er, teacher, mentor, and when he died he left a close double behind to remind Cain of her loss. Jarvis had obviously reminded Cain too much of her father and how much it hurt to lose him.

  Emma had turned to Jarvis as a way back to Cain, and he’d listened. And in a way because Cain had in turn listened to him, Cain had not only reconciled with her, but become close to Jarvis as well. After her return Cain had spent more time with him, finally seeing past the pain and instead to what a treasure he was.

  “Emma,” Jarvis said softly.

  “Save your strength, Uncle Jarvis.”

  “I want you.” He started coughing and it sounded like he was trying to clear a barrel of water from his chest.

  “It’s okay. Cain’s going for Muriel. I’m sure she’ll want to hear whatever you have to say.”

  “Time’s a luxury I don’t have,” he said, wheezing worse. “I know what the outcome of all this will be, and that’s why I left the house today. I’ve known about this bad pumper for a long time but didn’t want to bother you.” He held his hand up and she took it. “I’ve finally lost Muriel. It’s like when I saw you with Cain for the first time.”

  “I hope you know how grateful I am that you helped us get together again,” she said, trying to make conversation so he could catch his breath. “You gave me my life back.”

  “Cain will always belong to you, and that’s what I wanted for Muriel. She’s lost her heart to this girl, but that will only bring everyone pain,” he said slowly, but he seemed desperate. “I want you to promise that you’ll talk to Cain so she won’t abandon Muriel if she betrays the family.”

  “You know Cain would never turn Muriel away.” She squeezed his hand and sent a silent plea to Cain to hurry. Jarvis’s skin was turning ashen, and his eyes were cloudy.

  “Promise me, Emma.”

  “I promise. Whatever happens, I’ll be Muriel’s advocate. You need to calm down, though, and save your strength for her.”

  “Thank you, because in times like this it’s easy to say the words. But if Cain finds herself boxed in because of something my child has done in the name of love, it’ll be just as easy to forget.”

  “I’ll never forget.”

  “One more thing…” He tried to take a deep breath.

  “Ma’am,” Dr. Gamble said, “that’s enough for now.” He turned off an alarm that had started beeping when Jarvis stopped talking.

  “Wait.” Jarvis reached over with his other hand and winced in pain, but it seemed more important to him to hang on to her. “Tell Muriel all the things you’d tell Hayden or Hannah. You understand me?”

  “Yes, perfectly.”

  “I love her and I’m proud.” He was gasping now.

  “You have to step out,” Dr. Gamble said. “His heart rate is dropping rapidly.”

  “It’s okay, Emma,” Jarvis said, then coughed weakly. “Tell her I’ll be fine keeping her mother company.”

  The alarms got much louder after that and it looked like the entire unit’s staff came running. Emma stood outside with Lou’s hands on her shoulders and watched them try to revive Jarvis, but the heart monitor continued to show a thin green flat line. He was gone, but not before he’d taken care of his child.

  Emma placed her hands over her middle, feeling like she had to shield her unborn child from the ugliness and pain that was death. Soon the doctor looked up at the clock and called the time.

  “Lou, could you find me a chair?” she asked.

  “You’d be more comfortable in the waiting area.”

  “Do you think Cain would want us to leave him alone?”

  They stayed outside the room until the medical staff removed all the equipment Jarvis had been attached to, leaving him at last appearing peaceful. Then the doctor told them to take their time and left them as she sat next to the bed in silence.

  “May you go with God, uncle, and be one more soul who looks out for Cain and our children,” she thought before she said a more formal prayer for him. As sad as his death was, she prayed that this would be the way death visited Cain—at the end of a very long life after their children were grown and capable of choosing their happiness. It still wouldn’t be easy, but it’d be more tolerable than if it occurred in the near future.

  “If that happens, my heart will die with her no matter how many years I remain.” The thought was morbid but true.

  Chapter Four

  Cain drove slowly down the narrow street, hitting more potholes than actual pavement as she headed for the uptown address she’d memorized but had never visited. She’d fought her inclination to drive by it so the act wouldn’t be interpreted as aggression against someone she had yet to figure out.

  A number of cars were parked in front of the cute, well-maintained house with a front yard full of flowers, so she pulled over a half block down. With each step the dreamer in her wished she wouldn’t find Muriel inside, because then she could ignore what that meant. But Muriel’s BMW was parked next to the Suburban in the drive.

  Before she reached the middle of the walkway to the front door her cell phone rang on the lowest volume. The name on the screen was Emma’s and it made her want to sit in case her legs gave out at what was surely bad news.

  “Hello.” Sweat dampened her upper lip. “When?” she asked. “Thanks, lass, but don’t sit there until I get back. Have Lou take you home, then tell him to meet me back at the hospital.” The front of Shelby’s house blurred through the tears in her eyes, but she took a deep breath to keep them in check. “I love you too, and I’ll be fine.”

  He was gone. So very little of the family who’d been molded by her father was left. Jarvis had been her visible and emotional connection to her father, but he’d been so much more. She wouldn’t have been as successful if he hadn’t backed her from the moment she’d had to take over. But all those memories and thoughts would have to wait until she was alone.

  She knocked and closed her eyes briefly to try to block out the laughter coming from inside, since it only made the pain worse. “If it’s the boss, tell her we’re off until nine,” Shelby said from somewhere in the house when the other female agent Cain hadn’t met formally opened the door.

  “Agent Lansing, right?” she asked, and Claire nodded.

  “I’d like to speak to Muriel.” Her hand rested on the door frame involuntarily, covering her shock of finding the agent. She’d expected Shelby, but not this.

  “Would you like to come in?” Claire asked, turning around when she noticed Cain staring at Joe.

  “My apologies for interrupting your little party,” she said, more for Joe’s benefit since he was looking at her like he was trying to frighten her. “Have Muriel call me.” She’d had enough. This wasn’t the night to face one of her greatest fears aside from losing Emma or her children.

  Both her father and Jarvis had preached that this would cause her downfall. They said you could build walls thick enough that nothing or no one could break through, but all it would take was someone opening the gates and inviting the enemy in. When she saw Muriel’s dinner companions, the warning worked its way into her brain as easily as a hot knife through cold butter.

  “Cain,” Muriel called to her as she reached the sidewalk. She stood still, unwilling to meet Muriel halfway. “What’s wrong?”

  Muriel’s expression bordered on embarrassment, and Cain swallowed her anger so she could deliver the news that would change her cousin’s life forever. At least it had for her the day Jarvis told her about her father. “It’s Uncle Jarvis,” she said, her attention divided between Muriel and Shelby, who was moving closer.

  “Just say it.”

  “I tried, Muriel, but your cell phone was off and this one was off the hook.” She pointed to the house.

  “My number’s not listed,” Shelby said, winding her arm around Muriel’s wrist in a blatant act of possession.

  “Cain, please.”

  “I just wanted you to know I tried before it was too late. I’m so very sorry.”

  Muriel s
hook Shelby off and grabbed Cain by the shoulders. “What happened to him? Where is he?” The questions came so fast she didn’t have a chance to answer.

  “We had to take him to the emergency room, where they stabilized him, and to make him more comfortable his doctors moved him to C.C.U.” She didn’t break Muriel’s painful hold, but she put her hands on the sides of Muriel’s neck. “He was sicker than he ever admitted to us, and he’s gone.”

  “Gone?” Muriel asked, looking dazed. “He’s gone?”

  “I’m sorry and I hate having to tell you like this. I was hoping I’d get you back in time, but I left Emma with him. He wasn’t alone.” She let her tears fall, unable to control them any longer. “I didn’t know he was that sick.”

  Muriel fell against her and cried, not caring who saw them, and Shelby didn’t try to come closer. “I made promises to him, cousin, and only you can break them. You’ll never be alone, and I’ll always be here for you.”

  “Shelby,” Lionel shouted, seeming to be the most courageous of the bunch.

  “See to your guests and I’ll see to my family,” Cain said to Shelby, and started to lead Muriel toward the car.

  “I want to come.”

  This wasn’t the time to argue so she didn’t when Muriel held her hand out to Shelby. The ride back to the hospital was quiet except for Muriel’s sniffles. Cain locked eyes with Shelby at every traffic light. Had the door to the fortress already been opened and her enemy let in with so little fight?

  The answer would come soon, she thought. Shelby and her ilk had been pursuing Cain and her family for so long, anyone would be impatient to finish it. But what was Shelby willing to sacrifice to win?

  The possibilities were endless, but for Cain, winning meant keeping those she loved safe and cared for. Did someone work that hard for a job that would only forget you the minute you retired or quit? The answer was simple. What she had or what she did would never compete with who she loved. Nothing was worth having if it caused her to lose the love and respect of those she cherished.